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Nakba

American

[nok-buh, nak-bah] / ˈnɒk bə, ˈnæk bɑ /

noun

the mass expulsion and dispossession of Palestinians from the partitioned state of Palestine by Jewish militia and Israeli military forces between 1947 and 1949.

Etymology

Origin of Nakba

First recorded in 1960–65; from Arabic: literally, “catastrophe, disaster”

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

A majority of the population of the modern-day Gaza Strip descended from refugees of the Nakba.

From Salon • Nov. 30, 2025

May 15 marks the 77th anniversary of the Nakba.

From Los Angeles Times • May 13, 2025

Some fled to Jordan or Lebanon, or to refugee camps in Gaza, a period referred to as the Nakba, the Arabic word for catastrophe.

From Seattle Times • Jun. 5, 2024

Its wall was spray-painted with the words "Nakba 2023."

From Salon • May 26, 2024

Because Nakba and Shoah, the Hebrew word for the Holocaust, both mean “catastrophe” in English, and because both are rooted in the 1940s, they are often equated or conflated.

From Slate • May 15, 2024

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023